Things you wish people explained to you before you went to (insert vacation destination)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:The "private" sky clubs are an overcrowded joke; full of misers and gross food.

Kind of true. The food isn’t great, but who doesn’t like a free beer, cocktail or coffee? I do like theUnited Club in Denver. Only been there once, but got a roomy layout and is nicely designed.

Nothing is free.

You have to pay for kids in most lounges. Some cards and club restrict it to one free guest. It's not worth it IMHO unless it's a long layover and you need to have access to wifi, nicer bathroom facilities, snacks/beverages. I once was delayed with my kids for 6 hours and paying for them was definitely worth it. Some cards give you free passes for guests based on CC spending. On shorter layovers you won't have time to enjoy the lounge, better to have one of you go in there and bring out that coffee or a snack.

Bought a lifetime United Club membership (Red Carpet Club at the time) back when those were offered. Cost was maybe $2k, but it happened a while ago. Saved me a pile of money over time versus annual membership fees. One of my best ROI purchases ever. I still can bring in either 1 unrelated colleague - or all family who are traveling with me - as guests at no additional charge. And it also gets lounge access for me - and any family traveling with me - at Star Alliance lounges, provided we are departing same day same airport on a Star Alliance airline.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Food in Europe is overrated in sit down restaurants and expensive. Unless you are doing fine dining like Michelin star it's going to be overpriced for what you get and very meh. Reviews are not reliable, restaurants get guests to review them and happy drunk tourists are happy to oblige. Wine is not as expensive as here, so this explains the reviews Our best meals had been at take out places like sandwich or pasta shops and whatever we'd cook buying groceries. Most waterfront seafood restaurants in Mediterranean serve very similar things regardless of the country. I wouldn't know the diff eating grilled/fried seafood in Greece or Italy or France. Appetizers and some things are variations like pizza in Italy, tapas in France and gyros in Greece, these are better options IMHO than your branzino. Bread served in the restaurants is not fresh.

Overall, as much as we like to complain about food in the States it's way better IMO. More choices, more international cuisines, more diff tier places that are more consistent with what you pay for is what you get. There is junk food in Europe too, just avoid it everywhere.

This is a depressing take! Sit down restaurants in “Europe” other than Michelin-starred restaurants aren’t all “overrated”, and if you found them “meh” then it sounds like you went to some bad restaurants, so I hope your takeaway is to do better research in the future. Ask here or other online forums, being specific about where you are going (Europe is a big place…) I agree that there are plenty of bad restaurants, just like there are here, but the trick is to avoid them!

I really want to know what your idea of a good restaurant here in the US is, as that would help shape how my recommendations to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Food in Europe is overrated in sit down restaurants and expensive. Unless you are doing fine dining like Michelin star it's going to be overpriced for what you get and very meh. Reviews are not reliable, restaurants get guests to review them and happy drunk tourists are happy to oblige. Wine is not as expensive as here, so this explains the reviews Our best meals had been at take out places like sandwich or pasta shops and whatever we'd cook buying groceries. Most waterfront seafood restaurants in Mediterranean serve very similar things regardless of the country. I wouldn't know the diff eating grilled/fried seafood in Greece or Italy or France. Appetizers and some things are variations like pizza in Italy, tapas in France and gyros in Greece, these are better options IMHO than your branzino. Bread served in the restaurants is not fresh.

Overall, as much as we like to complain about food in the States it's way better IMO. More choices, more international cuisines, more diff tier places that are more consistent with what you pay for is what you get. There is junk food in Europe too, just avoid it everywhere.

This is a depressing take! Sit down restaurants in “Europe” other than Michelin-starred restaurants aren’t all “overrated”, and if you found them “meh” then it sounds like you went to some bad restaurants, so I hope your takeaway is to do better research in the future. Ask here or other online forums, being specific about where you are going (Europe is a big place…) I agree that there are plenty of bad restaurants, just like there are here, but the trick is to avoid them!

I really want to know what your idea of a good restaurant here in the US is, as that would help shape how my recommendations to you.

All this sounds good if you have all the time on your hands. The way we travel unfortunately given jobs/schools/budget is at a faster pace, which doesn't leave much time to try many options or do extensive research especially if you have kids and are trying to also do lots of sightseeing. It also leaves you tired at the end of the day and not willing to work hard to find dinner accommodations with cranky kids. I found it helpful to stick to local food options of the region, they tend to be better (pizza/pasta/anchovies in Italy, tapas in Spain, etc) and avoid expensive proteins like steak and fish as they are rather plain and overpriced if you are looking for more interesting preparations. I rarely got disappointed this way. If you agonize over food choices it adds quite a bit of overhead researching and still may not have your expectations met. I ate at 2 well rated restaurants and one turned out to be great while another one was rather underwhelming given the same reviews/rating. This is true for the USA too.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I wish someone said the Grand Canyon is not kid friendly and pretty dangerous and it’s not that impressive in my opinion. I loved the arches at Utah but something about our Grabd Canyon trip was a bust.

Dangerous, how so? Thanks!

NP- A misstep on a trail and you are dead. You sit on a ledge and lose balance? You could be dead. It is a very dangerous place for small kids, you could not let a 2yo out of your sight for 2 seconds without them being at risk near the rim. I have vertigo so stayed on the paved biked trail and went viewpoint to viewpoint that way. I disagree about it not being impressive though, it is breathtaking, but the hiking is inherently dangerous.

NP. By “kid” friendly I was assuming the kid was at least ES age. Who the heck takes a 2yo to a cliff??

We went on a hike at Muir Woods in California and I was terrified the entire time that my 11 year old was going to trip on something and tumble down a steep ravine. I will never do that hike again with a kid, heck I was nervous myself.

LOL. Been to Muir Woods dozens of times. Where exactly was your child in peril? The place is crowded with multi-generational groups. You can’t even call it hiking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish someone said the Grand Canyon is not kid friendly and pretty dangerous and it’s not that impressive in my opinion. I loved the arches at Utah but something about our Grabd Canyon trip was a bust.

Dangerous, how so? Thanks!

NP- A misstep on a trail and you are dead. You sit on a ledge and lose balance? You could be dead. It is a very dangerous place for small kids, you could not let a 2yo out of your sight for 2 seconds without them being at risk near the rim. I have vertigo so stayed on the paved biked trail and went viewpoint to viewpoint that way. I disagree about it not being impressive though, it is breathtaking, but the hiking is inherently dangerous.

NP. By “kid” friendly I was assuming the kid was at least ES age. Who the heck takes a 2yo to a cliff??

We went on a hike at Muir Woods in California and I was terrified the entire time that my 11 year old was going to trip on something and tumble down a steep ravine. I will never do that hike again with a kid, heck I was nervous myself.

LOL. Been to Muir Woods dozens of times. Where exactly was your child in peril? The place is crowded with multi-generational groups. You can’t even call it hiking.

I wonder if the first Muir Woods poster is confusing it with somewhere else. It's a very flat level path with little bridges over a shallow creek. It's actually kind of like Sligo Creek Park in Maryland in terms of how easy and non threatening it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Make sure you're well packed w/ toiletries & over the counter meds you might need in The Maldives.

My friend paid $50 for a six oz tube of sunscreen because she wanted to save money on baggage fees and thought she'd "buy it there."

Sounds like it’s possible she still saved money. It’s $60 for me to round trip a bag on Delta.

[Anonymous]

That the good food in Barcelona is NOT on Las Ramblas, which is basically that city's version of Times Square.

[Anonymous]

How crazy chaotic everything in Tokyo would be. I thought it would be like New York but it's so much more chaotic and crowded at the tourist destinations.

[Anonymous]

On the dining thing, I wish there was a better app that would direct you to restaurants near your physical location. I realize trip advisor does this but I find their ratings to be almost worthless. We had two bad meals in Rome picking places that were Trip Advisor rated. When we just randomly picked a place, it was much better. Including a place right on Piazza Navonna that was good (breaking the rule that places right at the tourist spot are usually bad), and then someplace a couple blocks off the Piazzq that was bad (my food was so salty I left most of it).

I have this all the rtike when I travel for work too. I want someplace good but my primary issue is location. There are some good blogs that profile restaurants but it’s a lot of work to figure out what’s close to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:On the dining thing, I wish there was a better app that would direct you to restaurants near your physical location. I realize trip advisor does this but I find their ratings to be almost worthless. We had two bad meals in Rome picking places that were Trip Advisor rated. When we just randomly picked a place, it was much better. Including a place right on Piazza Navonna that was good (breaking the rule that places right at the tourist spot are usually bad), and then someplace a couple blocks off the Piazzq that was bad (my food was so salty I left most of it).

I use Google maps to save restaurants near where we're staying and attractions we're going to. I use best of and best cheap eats in addition to the ratings in Google maps

I have this all the rtike when I travel for work too. I want someplace good but my primary issue is location. There are some good blogs that profile restaurants but it’s a lot of work to figure out what’s close to you.

[Anonymous]

I brought my own top sheet to Europe.
You’ll never find a great cup of coffee so plan accordingly.
I’m a quiet American but I guess was too loud, at times.
I went on a quest for ice at 10 pm in Scotland and begged at a bar for some.
Bring your own grocery bags. We knew that going in, but forgot them every time. I used my sweater as a hammock carrier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How much you could really, really, really barter and negotiate with the beach vendors on St. Maarten.

Ha I love this. We went over Christmas 20 years ago. My 14 year old daughter wanted braids. That was her Christmas gift. $340 later my husband (a banker) used his negotiating skills to bring it down to $75.
Daughter has super thick hair and you pay by the braid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How much you could really, really, really barter and negotiate with the beach vendors on St. Maarten.

Ha I love this. We went over Christmas 20 years ago. My 14 year old daughter wanted braids. That was her Christmas gift. $340 later my husband (a banker) used his negotiating skills to bring it down to $75.
Daughter has super thick hair and you pay by the braid.

You really need to read the room on the bartering thing. I was at a restaurant on the beach in Cabo and these obnoxious Americans with the worst 7th grade Spanish were trying to get some poor women to sell them a scarf/wrap for the most ridiculous price. It was like her - $20. Him — I’ll give you $5. Her — no, it’s $20. Him, c’mon you can do it for $5. Her, it’s $20. Him—I could go as high as $8. Her, trying to walk away. He would not shut up. He kept saying he wanted it for a “partido blanco” and I was wondering how on earth this guy didn’t know the word “fiesta.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I brought my own top sheet to Europe.
You’ll never find a great cup of coffee so plan accordingly.
I’m a quiet American but I guess was too loud, at times.
I went on a quest for ice at 10 pm in Scotland and begged at a bar for some.
Bring your own grocery bags. We knew that going in, but forgot them every time. I used my sweater as a hammock carrier.

You’ll never find a great cup of coffee?! You can’t be for real

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I brought my own top sheet to Europe.
You’ll never find a great cup of coffee so plan accordingly.
I’m a quiet American but I guess was too loud, at times.
I went on a quest for ice at 10 pm in Scotland and begged at a bar for some.
Bring your own grocery bags. We knew that going in, but forgot them every time. I used my sweater as a hammock carrier.

The ice part will never not be annoying. I feel like people are missing out on ice on hot days.